AGRICULTURAL BELT TIPS

HOW TO KEEP
YOUR EQUIPMENT
MAKING HAY.

Less downtime and fewer

breakdowns start with
quality AGCO Parts and
the right maintenance.

HAYING TIME IS NO TIME FOR BREAKDOWNS.

When you’re racing against the weather you can’t afford baler breakdowns
or poor performance. Proper maintenance and repair of your AGCO baler
belts are the keys to a successful hay season. This handy guide will help
you stay up and running and making hay while the sun shines.
 A $10 repair now could save you $400
and a lot of headaches later.
Agricultural flat belting is a workhorse for a variety of equipment ranging from round balers and swathers
to combine headers and pickup attachments. In some cases, simple maintenance such as replacing
fasteners, connecting pins or cable can be the difference between a $10.00 repair and replacing a $400.00
belt.
Use this handy trouble-shooting guide to determine if your belts need:
• General maintenance--such as cleaning and checking for wear.
• Repairs-- such as re-splicing due to damaged hooks or splices or
• Replacement-- due to tears, slippage or the belts are just worn out and need to be upgraded for
a new season.
No matter what your needs, you can count on your AGCO dealer to have the baler belting and accessories
you need to start the season off right.
WHAT MAKES BELTS FAIL?
In general AGCO belting is over designed and rarely fails due to lack of
strength. However, certain factors can make a big difference in the
performance, downtime, and actual failure rates of belts. Here are a few
common trouble spots:
CONNECTING PIN/CABLE FAILURE.
Figure 1
In belts with mechanical fasteners, a common failure point is the small
connecting pin/cable which connects the two ends of the belt together.
(Figure 1) It is highly recommended these be replaced every year or every
2,000 bales, whichever comes first.

1
Heavy use and wear can cause these to break or fracture which creates an
BELTING uneven pull between the belt ends. (Figures 2 & 3) This puts extra stress
TIP NO. and tension on the spliced area causing the partially connected ends to
Check and replace pull through and the belt to break.
any questionable
connecting pins before UNEVEN BELT LENGTH FAILURE. Figure 2
haying season begins. Another common issue is belt length. With balers and other multi-belt
machines, it is critical that all belts be the same length if they drive on
common rollers. You should re-size your belts if you start seeing tracking
problems or notice some belts seem looser than others.
It’s common for center belts in a baler to become slightly longer than outer
belts. This happens because, generally, more crop is picked up in the center
of the machine stretching the center belts. Over time, other belts may
actually become shorter (called belt creep).

2
Figure 3
BELTING It is not as critical that belts be cut to a specific length (say original
TIP NO. length) as it is to be cut the same length. So rather than adding short pieces to belts that have shrunk,
it’s better to cut all the belts to match the length of your shortest belt.
Make sure your belts
are all the same length. HOW TO TELL WHEN A BELT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
Excessive bowing and fraying.
So when should belts be replaced instead of repaired? As a general rule, if belts have been off track
enough to curl the edges, or in extreme cases, flip over, they should be replaced.
Over time, excess rubbing and or belt edge curling will cause the belt to camber (bow). (Figures 4 & 5) If
belts consistently rub the belt guides, the edges will stretch and cause permanent damage. If you notice
substantial belt fraying, they may be rubbing hard against the belt guides and need to be re-sized or at
least re-aligned by moving the adjusting roller. ( Figures 6 & 7)
Cut off any longer frayed strings to keep them from wrapping
around steel carrier rollers and tangling with crop residue.

3
Cuts and gouges from foreign objects
BELTING
At times, debris such as rocks, limbs or posts may enter
TIP NO.
your baler and cause major cuts or gouges in the belts.
If the damage is severe enough, the belt may need to be Cut off any long, frayed
completely replaced. (Figure 8) It’s always a good idea to strings to keep them
from wrapping around
do re-sizing and replace pins before haying season comes
and clogging rollers.
around.
Excessive wear of rubber surface texture
The primary reason belts are replaced is the wearing down
of rubber surface texture. No matter what the type of texture
(Diamond, Continuous Chevron or Mini Rough Top), as it wears,
Figure 4 Figure 5 the positive gripping action of the texture is reduced.
With moderate wear, you’ll notice some slipping as the gripping
action of the hay to the belt is reduced. With extreme wear, you’ll start to have
a hard time starting bales.
A quick test for wear is to rub your hands across the belt surface to feel if the

4
texture is still providing grip or if they have become somewhat slick.
BELTING
Ozone and sunlight effects TIP NO.
Over time, ozone and sunlight make belts harder and “slicker.” Not only After 7,500 to 10,000
Figure 6
does this reduce the belt’s ability to grip the crop (top surface), it also bales, belt surfaces may
hurts its ability to grip the drive roller (bottom surface). This can cause have worn enough to
belt slippage and heat buildup that can stall out a belt and literally snap need replacement.
it in half.
High bale volume
As bale volume increases, textured surfaces begin to wear and affect your
baler’s performance.
-Up to 5000 bales – belts should continue to grip and start the bale core as
Figure 7 expected.
-5,000 to 7,500 bales – additional wear may start to affect the belt’s ability to
grip the crop.
-7,500 and 10,000 bales – texture surfaces may have worn so much that it’s
difficult to start a bale and keep it turning in the chamber without some belt

5
to crop slippage.
BELTING
AGCO recommends that you install a new set of belts at this point. TIP NO.
OTHER CRITICAL MAINTENANCE PARTS. Broken or worn starter
Figure 8 One of the most overlooked replacement parts on a baler are the flaps can dramatically
starting flaps. Broken starter flaps have a tremendous effect on baler hurt your baler’s
performance. AGCO highly recommends that you check and replace starter flaps when they show performance.
signs of wear, are bending over, or are broken. This could be as often as every 2,000 bales.
FOR THE BEST BALER PERFORMANCE,
USE THE BEST BALER
PARTS... AGCO!

THE BEST PARTS

COME FROM THE
DEALER YOU
CAN TRUST.
Whichever choice you make, you can

count on your AGCO dealer to have

the baler belting and accessories you

need to start the season off right.

There’s no better friend you can have

at haying time.

DESIGNED TO HANDLE YOUR TOUGHEST CONDITIONS.

Haying time is a race against the clock. You simply can’t afford
the time and aggravation of breakdowns. So keep your baler
running at peak performance when it counts by doing the
maintenance suggested here and by only using the best quality
parts for the job–tough baler belts and accessories from AGCO.
AGCO goes the extra mile with its parts design and construction
to keep you in the field. AGCO belts are:
• individually inspected to assure they meet our quality standards today’s high density balers and in affordable two-ply style with a
and perform flawlessly.
• vulcanized, not glued, under extreme heat and pressure.
This produces belting with additional textures, strength and
longevity.
• either laced, using hooks and splices, or the newer generation
endless style for extra durability and belt life.
• designed to meet or exceed O.E.M. specifications for high
quality and longevity in the field.
• available in both three-ply style for the demanding use of
variety of surface textures.

CHECK NOW! For a complete listing of belting for all you baling needs, go to www.AGCOparts.com and select the “Hay” tab.

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